IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/poprpr/v39y2020i5d10.1007_s11113-020-09605-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Demographic Lifeline? Immigration and Hispanic Population Growth in Rural America

Author

Listed:
  • Daniel T. Lichter

    (Cornell University)

  • Kenneth M. Johnson

    (University of New Hampshire)

Abstract

Can immigration save rural and small town America? Our goal is to highlight the new racial dynamics of population change in nonmetropolitan areas, where slowing population growth rates since 1990 eventuated in widespread depopulation during the post-2010 period. We use 3141 counties as the unit of analysis, tracking population change data over the 1990 to 2017 period. Our results, based on decennial census counts and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, show that Hispanic population growth has been spatially ubiquitous, occurring in both declining and growing nonmetropolitan counties. Hispanic growth has slowed but not reversed chronic declines in rural population. Significantly, the growth of Latinos benefited a majority of historically depopulating or declining nonmetropolitan counties as well as nonmetropolitan counties that have continued to grow. Our analyses also reveal substantial heterogeneity in patterns of population change in nonmetropolitan America. Latino population growth often makes the difference between overall county population growth and decline. Nearly 200 nonmetropolitan counties grew during the 2010–2017 period, but only because Hispanic population increases offset non-Hispanic population declines. For these counties, which account for about 10 percent of all nonmetropolitan counties, Latinos clearly provided a demographic lifeline. Hispanics population gains were usually insufficient to reverse population declines in historically depopulating counties but nevertheless slowed the pace of decline. Hispanic growth was greatest in counties where the population was growing, resulting in a demographic multiplier effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel T. Lichter & Kenneth M. Johnson, 2020. "A Demographic Lifeline? Immigration and Hispanic Population Growth in Rural America," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(5), pages 785-803, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:39:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1007_s11113-020-09605-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-020-09605-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11113-020-09605-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11113-020-09605-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emilio Parrado, 2011. "How High is Hispanic/Mexican Fertility in the United States? Immigration and Tempo Considerations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 1059-1080, August.
    2. Daniel Lichter, 2013. "Integration or Fragmentation? Racial Diversity and the American Future," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 359-391, April.
    3. Glenn Fuguitt & Tim Heaton & Daniel Lichter, 1988. "Monitoring the metropolitanization process," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 25(1), pages 115-128, February.
    4. Kenneth M. Johnson, 2020. "Subnational Non‐Hispanic White Natural Decrease in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(1), pages 7-31, March.
    5. Kenneth M. Johnson & Daniel T. Lichter, 2016. "Diverging Demography: Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Contributions to U.S. Population Redistribution and Diversity," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(5), pages 705-725, October.
    6. Kenneth M. Johnson & Daniel T. Lichter, 2008. "Natural Increase: A New Source of Population Growth in Emerging Hispanic Destinations in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 327-346, June.
    7. Kenneth M. Johnson & Richelle L. Winkler, 2015. "Migration signatures across the decades," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(38), pages 1065-1080.
    8. Daniel T. Lichter & Kenneth M. Johnson & Richard N. Turner & Allison Churilla, 2012. "H ispanic Assimilation and Fertility in New U . S . Destinations," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 767-791, December.
    9. William Kandel & Emilio A. Parrado, 2005. "Restructuring of the US Meat Processing Industry and New Hispanic Migrant Destinations," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 31(3), pages 447-471, September.
    10. Krumel, Thomas P. Jr., 2017. "Anti-Immigration Reform and Reductions in Welfare: Evidence from the Meatpacking Industry," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 32(1), April.
    11. Richelle L. Winkler & Kenneth M. Johnson, 2016. "Moving Toward Integration? Effects of Migration on Ethnoracial Segregation Across the Rural-Urban Continuum," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 1027-1049, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Whitney E. Zahnd & Cathryn Murphy & Marie Knoll & Gabriel A. Benavidez & Kelsey R. Day & Radhika Ranganathan & Parthenia Luke & Anja Zgodic & Kewei Shi & Melinda A. Merrell & Elizabeth L. Crouch & Hea, 2021. "The Intersection of Rural Residence and Minority Race/Ethnicity in Cancer Disparities in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-26, February.
    2. Rachel Sparkman & Kathryn Harker Tillman, 2024. "Household Income by Nativity Status and Race/Ethnicity Across Metropolitan and Regional Contexts," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(1), pages 1-31, February.
    3. Michael Haan & Hyeongsuk Jin & Taylor Paul, 2023. "The Geographical Mobility of Journeypersons in Canada: Evidence from Administrative Data," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-25, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kenneth M. Johnson & Daniel T. Lichter, 2016. "Diverging Demography: Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Contributions to U.S. Population Redistribution and Diversity," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(5), pages 705-725, October.
    2. Kenneth M. Johnson & Daniel T. Lichter, 2010. "Growing Diversity among America's Children and Youth: Spatial and Temporal Dimensions," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(1), pages 151-176, March.
    3. Kenneth M. Johnson & Daniel T. Lichter, 2020. "Metropolitan Reclassification and the Urbanization of Rural America," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1929-1950, October.
    4. Barrett A. Lee & Gregory Sharp, 2017. "Ethnoracial Diversity across the Rural-Urban Continuum," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 672(1), pages 26-45, July.
    5. Albert Sabater & Gemma Catney, 2019. "Unpacking Summary Measures of Ethnic Residential Segregation Using an Age Group and Age Cohort Perspective," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 161-189, February.
    6. Brian Thiede & Matthew M. Brooks, 2018. "Child poverty across immigrant generations in the United States, 1993–2016: Evidence using the official and supplemental poverty measures," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(40), pages 1065-1080.
    7. Noli Brazil, 2019. "Hispanic neighbourhood satisfaction in new and established metropolitan destinations," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(14), pages 2953-2976, November.
    8. Rachel Sparkman & Kathryn Harker Tillman, 2024. "Household Income by Nativity Status and Race/Ethnicity Across Metropolitan and Regional Contexts," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(1), pages 1-31, February.
    9. Barrett Lee & Michael Martin & Stephen Matthews & Chad Farrell, 2017. "State-level changes in US racial and ethnic diversity, 1980 to 2015: A universal trend?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(33), pages 1031-1048.
    10. Krumel, Thomas & Goodrich, Corey, 2021. "COVID-19 Working Paper: Meatpacking Working Conditions and the Spread of COVID-19," USDA Miscellaneous 315417, United States Department of Agriculture.
    11. Daniel T. Lichter & James P. Ziliak, 2017. "The Rural-Urban Interface: New Patterns of Spatial Interdependence and Inequality in America," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 672(1), pages 6-25, July.
    12. Elizabeth Ackert & Stephanie Potochnick, 2024. "Health Care Access Among Children in Latinx Families Across U.S. Destinations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(5), pages 1-44, October.
    13. Barrett Lee & Lauren Hughes, 2015. "Bucking the Trend: Is Ethnoracial Diversity Declining in American Communities?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(1), pages 113-139, February.
    14. Patrick J. Carr & Daniel T. Lichter & Maria J. Kefalas, 2012. "Can Immigration Save Small-Town America? Hispanic Boomtowns and the Uneasy Path to Renewal," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 641(1), pages 38-57, May.
    15. Eileen Díaz McConnell & Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz, 2023. "Exploring Popular Sentiments of U.S. Ethnoracial Demographic Change: A Research Brief," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(6), pages 1-14, December.
    16. Daniel T. Lichter & Kenneth M. Johnson & Richard N. Turner & Allison Churilla, 2012. "H ispanic Assimilation and Fertility in New U . S . Destinations," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 767-791, December.
    17. Marianne Tønnessen, 2020. "Declined Total Fertility Rate Among Immigrants and the Role of Newly Arrived Women in Norway," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(3), pages 547-573, July.
    18. Daniel T. Lichter & Domenico Parisi & Michael C. Taquino, 2015. "Spatial Assimilation in U.S. Cities and Communities? Emerging Patterns of Hispanic Segregation from Blacks and Whites," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 660(1), pages 36-56, July.
    19. Fernando Riosmena & Douglas S. Massey, 2012. "Pathways to El Norte: Origins, Destinations, and Characteristics of Mexican Migrants to the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 3-36, March.
    20. Stella Min & Miles G. Taylor, 2018. "Racial and Ethnic Variation in the Relationship Between Student Loan Debt and the Transition to First Birth," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 165-188, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:39:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1007_s11113-020-09605-8. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.